State and local governments upping mobility pace, but still have far to go

September 4, 2014 | By David Weldon

State and local government agencies are working to accelerate mobile readiness, but none are at full speed yet.

That is the finding of a new study, "State and Local Mobility Map: Road to Mobile Readiness," from the Mobile Work Exchange. As noted in a recent article at BSM Info, the study explores the current mobility of state and local governments and provides a guide on how to plot a path for mobile readiness.

The study says at least 40 percent of state and local government managers use mobile devices now for some work-related tasks, and 65 percent expect the number of mobile workers on their staff to increase over the next five years.

Despite the growing interest in mobility among government employees, however, the majority (58 percent) are not fully mobile ready. The top reasons are security issues (cited by 56 percent) and insufficient budgets (cited by 52 percent).

At the same time, there is some good news in the report. For example, 62 percent of IT managers say their departments have adopted a virtual desktop infrastructure to support mobility. They are also working to convince senior executives to "increase technology budgets, update infrastructure, and increase the number of employees eligible for telework," the article notes.

According to David Smith, director of state and local government at Citrix, which sponsored the study, state and local governments have generally made progress when it comes to mobility, but one hurdle to more effective use is a hesitance to "think big."

"As the call for mobility continues to grow louder to drive increased productivity, more robust COOP (continuity of operations) plans, and provide better constituent service, it is imperative for agencies to overcome these roadblocks by taking an enterprise approach when tackling mobility while also addressing infrastructure gaps, establishing incentives to spur mobility adoption, and expanding employee telework eligibility to increase agency operations and productivity," Smith says.

For more:
- check out the Mobile Work Exchange study
- read the BMS Info article